#64 TMSA Apex | Mary Jawabreh

In this episode of “The Charter School Connection” Dallan speaks with another administrator he met at the NCAPCS Conference in Wilmington. Mary Jawabreh, Assistant Principal of Academics - K-4 at TMSA Apex shares her experiences in the charter school world.

After working 9 years at private catholic schools, Mary wanted to grow in her career. Previously having worked in Dubai and Abu Dhabi at international schools she was looking for a similar feel. She started at TMSA Apex when it opened in 2022 as a kindergarten teacher. A year later she was moved into an administrator position.

While working overseas, Mary worked at schools within the British school systems. She was able to bring back some of the different teaching techniques back and implement them here. The most important thing she learned while overseas was cultural awareness. She was able to travel to 11 countries during her 4 years abroad and experience many different cultures, religions and languages.

TMSA Apex is like a mini UN, having students from all over the world. The different cultures and languages all come together to build a special type of community. Although all charter schools are essentially competitors they also form a close knit charter school family. TMSA Apex is a STEM - project based school with a “leader in me” model. This “leader in me” model helps to teach kids how to carry leadership from kindergarten to graduation.

The biggest challenges she has faced are making sure to maintain strong leadership in an always changing environment (especially in regards to policies). Reminding the team to always use teamwork will go a long way in facing any challenges that arrive.

Mary shares three books that have impacted her and she recommends them to all. She is always willing to talk to anyone who would like to connect. Her email address and links to the books are in the show notes below.



Time Stamps:

00:35 How did Mary become involved in the charter school world?

1:07 Differences between private catholic schools and charter schools?

1:34 Mary’s experiences and what makes TMSA special?

2:43 Mary’s international teaching experiences and what she has learned and brought back.

5:14 What makes TMSA unique?

6:33 Challenges and how they overcame them.


8:40 Recommendations for other leaders.

10:10 If you could go back in time 4 years ago, what wisdom would you give yourself?

11:13 Final Insights



Show Notes:

TMSA Apex: https://www.tmsaapex.org/
Mary Jawabreh’s email: [email protected]
“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Eat-Last-To...
“Be 1% Better” by Ron Clark https://a.co/d/iCHx9Cj
“Improving Schools from Within” by Ronald Barth https://a.co/d/azvoR3G